"Metty. How's it going?"

She recognized Alexei's voice. She spotted him a few people behind her, with Marco, Madison, and Jessica. Marco had always been polite to her, although she barely knew him. "Hey, Alexei, Marco." She nodded to Madison and Jessica.

"How do you like the fair?"

"Great!" said Marco. "Rides, food, exhibits. Now the concert."

"I like this band," said Alexei. "We saw them in Lisbon last year."

"I'm Marco de Almurias," said Marco, nodding to the group with Metty. "Tall guy is my cousin, Alexei de Moreno." He nodded to Madison. "Madison Portnoy, and Jessica Winston." The girls gave tiny nods. Dolores Reynolds and her boyfriend, Chris Stone." Metty's group introduced themselves. The line began to step forward.

Jessica eased a step away from Alexei and closer to Marco.

"Sit together?" Marco asked, ignoring her. "A big group is fun at concerts."

"Sure," said Darius. "Pleased to meet you all."

*

After the concert they strolled down the Midway, chatting and talking, till they reached the double Ferris Wheel.

Darius said, "It's after midnight. I know tomorrow's Saturday, but Valerie has to work, and Angie and I have to go to Columbia."

"One more ride. Maybe get something to eat on the way out?" Valerie asked.

Darius shrugged. "OK with me. What ride?"

"The Ferris Wheel," said Valerie. "What else?"

"It should be beautiful with all the lights," said Metty.

Jessica smirked. "Not compared to Paris at night." Madison laughed. Alexei looked sideways at them.

"I want to ride," Marco said. "You two can wait here since this bores you."

"I'm not staying down here alone," said Madison.

"You'd be with Jessica," said Alexei.

"I'll stay with you," said Aidan, looking over the two beautiful young women. "I don't like heights." Jessica and Madison glared at him.

"It's settled, then," said Marco. "Let's go."

They got into cars. Metty ended up alone with Alexei in the last empty car. The wheels began to rise. Their car rose to the top. Metty took pictures of the Midway and the countryside. She showed them to Alexei as the wheel rolled down.

"Blurry," she said.

"Yeah, but bright and colorful."

They sat quietly as their car descended and rose again.

"I had a good time tonight."

"Your boyfriend, Aidan, didn't pay much attention to you. He was flirting with Dolores."

"He's not my boyfriend, just a friend of Darius. The group got together for tonight."

"Oh.

"He's going back to Chicago Sunday," said Metty.

"Good." Alexei was surprised to feel relieved. "Don't you have a boyfriend, Metty?"

"We broke up in May when he moved to Atlanta for a new job."

"That one. No new one. Atlanta's not too far."

"He wanted me to transfer to Atlanta to finish school. I told him I couldn't afford it and didn't want to move till I got my degree. He got mad." She looked sideways at Alexei. "That was the end of that."

Alexei shook his head. "His loss."

Metty started. She turned her head to look over the fairgrounds, and Alexei watched her face glow in the sparkling lights.

"You like the fair.

"It's exciting. Once a year." She turned to look at him, her hair reflecting the lights. "Don't you think it's exciting?"

"Yes. But the Fair is calm. I can relax. I've had enough excitement for the time being." He thought of the day he and the other cadets were flying to Newport Naval Base on Isla Manta and the plane crashed in the ocean. Half the passengers died. He survived with a broken leg. It ended his military service.

"Big, exciting things. Small quiet things. You miss something if you limit your experiences. Small things, like a pinch of salt in a dish, make the difference. My mother paints watercolors. One day she went into the garden when there wasn't much blooming. She came back with some branches that had lost most of their blossoms and were budding leaves. They were quite plain and aburrido, how do you say? Dull. Or so I told her.

"She laughed and said there was beauty in them if you knew how to look. She said some things whisper beauty. Such soft beauty would give me moments of happiness that could last forever. She shook the branches and turned them around, and I saw a grace of form and shape framed in beautiful green. That picture hangs in my bedroom at Ruidoso, where my parents have their home."

The wheels rose and they floated above the lights and crowds. Music filled the night. The car descended again. Fragrant smells of hot food drifted through the air.

"I'm getting hungry," said Metty. "I think I'll get a slice on the way out."

"Me, too," said Alexei, as the wheel stopped and began to unload passengers.

They caught up with Aidan and the girls in a surly group by the exit. Jessica and Madison looked unhappy.

"We'll be on our way," said Angie. "Nice meeting you all."

"We'll come try your pizza when you open," said Marco. He and Alexei led their group away.

"I'd like a slice or a hotdog now," said Metty.

"Me, too," said Darius. "Hey, look! Pizza stand!"